Choshin Chibana
was born June 5, 1885, in the Torihori district of Shuri. At the age of
15, Chibana placed himself under the tutelage of Anko Itosu, the preeminent
Karate master of the day. For the next 13 years until Itosu passing at
the age of 85, Chibana remained a devoted pupil. He then practiced further
austerities alone, until he finally opened his dojo in Torihori district
at the age of 34. There and at his second dojo in Kumojo district of Naha
City, he worked to teach the tenets of Karate.

After a narrow
escape from in the Battle of Okinawa, Chibana returned to Shuri from the
Chinen Village and immediately began teaching again, first in the Gibo
area. He taught then at 10 different sites in Yamakawa district of Shuri
and Naha, eventually relocating his main dojo from Asato, then to Mihara.
During this period from February 1954 to December 1958, he served as Karate
Advisor and Senior Instructor for the Shuri Police Precinct. In May of
1956, the Okinawa Karate Federation was formed and he assumed office as
its first President.

In August,
1964, in memory of the 50th anniversary of the death of his teacher Anko
Itosu, Chibana Sensei erected a monument at the Itosu family tomb.

In 1960,
the Okinawa Times newspaper awarded Chibana Sensei its first Award for
Distinguished Public Service in Physical Education. In the spring of 1968,
he was given the Fourth Degree of Merit Zuiho Decoration for survivors
of the war. In 1966, he relocated to Tokyo's Cancer Center, where treatment
allowed a brief reprieve which he used to train with his grandchildren.
At the celebration in honor of his Zuiho Decoration, Chibana Sensei surprised
and delighted the audience by dancing. However, he was incapacitated again
before the end of the year, and on February 26, 1969, he passed away in
Omaha Hospital at 6:40 in the morning.

Chibana Choshin, the originator of shorin-ryu ("the small forest style")
was born on June 5, 1885, at Tottori-cho in Shuri City, Okinawa. He began
training with Itosu "Ankoh" in 1900, after dropping out of the Okinawa
Kenritsu Dai-Ichi Chu-gakko (high school). He was then 15 years old.

He studied with Itosu until his teacher's demise on January 26, 1915,
at the age of 85. Five years after his teacher's death, he began teaching
on his own. His first training hall was located at Tottori-bori and as
his reputation spread, he was able to open up a second training hall in
Kumo-cho, Naha.

Chibana
remained on the island of Okinawa during World War II and narrowly escaped
death when Shuri was destroyed by the Americans in 1945. After the war,
he once again began teaching Shorin-ryu in Giho-cho which is a section
of Shuri City. During February, 1954, until December, 1958, he was also
the Chief Karate-do Instructor for the Shuri City Police Department. On
May 5, 1956, the Okinawa Karate-do Association was formed and he was appointed
its first president.

Chibana's
reputation as a karate master continued to spread, not only in Okinawa
but also in mainland Japan. By 1957, he had received the title of Hanshi
(High Master) from the Dai Nippon Butokukai (The Greater Japan Martial
Virtue Association) and in 1960, he received the First Sports Award from
the Okinawa Times Newspaper for his overall accomplishments in the study
and practice of traditional Okinawan Karate-do. On April 29, 1968, Chibana-sensei
brought further honor to Okinawan Karate-do by being awarded the 4th Order
of Merit by the Emperor of Japan in recognition of his devotion to the
study and practice of Okinawan karate-do.

In
1964, Chibana was advised that he had terminal cancer of the throat. But,
because of his dedication to the art of Okinawa Shorin-ryu, he continued
to teach even though his body began to weaken as the cancer spread. By
1966, he was admitted into Tokyo's Cancer Research Center for radiation
treatment in an attempt to arrest the spread. After some improvement,
Chibana once again resumed his teaching of Okinawa Shorin-ryu with his
grandson, Nakazato Akira (Shorin-ryu 7-Dan).

By the end of 1968, Chibana-sensei's condition became worse and he returned
to Ohama Hospital. Despite the doctors' efforts to save his life, he died
at 6:40 a.m. on the 26th of February, 1969, at the advanced age of 83.

Chibana Sensei - A Man Of Butoku
With the end of World War II, the island of Okinawa had taken on a new,
modern look. The island was filled with American servicemen, American
money and American machinery. The Okinawans once again looked towards
Japan for their roots. The most prestigious Japanese martial arts organization,
the Dai Nippon Butokukai (the Greater Japan Martial Virtue Association),
had been out-lawed during the American military occupation of Japan. By
the early 1950's, the U.S. Military became "more tolerant" and the Butokukai
was again reorganized and open its doors to the new master teachers of
the traditional martial arts.

It should be noted that during this period of time, many Okinawan styles
still taught and stressed a more "jutsu" style of martial arts. Many of
the old pictures in my collection show various dojo signs indicating that
they were a school of Shorin-ryu Karate-jutsu or Uechi-ryu Karate-jutsu.
In 1956 the Butokukai was advised that the Okinawans had formed their
own organization and were in the process of standardizing the various
branches of karate. By 1957, the Butokukai felt that the Okinawans were
leaning toward BUDO style martial arts and invited a number of individuals
to be honored.

On
May 5, 1957, Chibana Choshin, who was then president of the Okinawa Karate-do
Association, was awarded the title of Hanshi (Grand Master) from the new
Dai Nippon Butokukai. This was the first time that the Butokukai has awarded
a so prestigious title to an Okinawan. At the time of his award, the senior
most martial arts experts of the Butokukai asked Chibana-sensei what he
considered the most important quality for a traditional martial artist.
Chibana-sensei replied:

Butoku
(Martial Virtue; Martial Honor)! We are born with only one sole possession…
this is our name. When we die, all material things mean nothing. We die
with our only true possession… our name. We strive to bring honor to our
name. We, as teachers of the martial arts, have even a deeper responsibility…
we mold and guide the young. We must develop a strong martial honor in
order to do this. This is the road I follow. This is what shorinryu karatedo
is… my martial honor and my responsibility.

(Note: Initially, I never used the "Butoku" part of the essay. I thought
is was too simple and had very little meaning for todays practitioner.
I have been practicing shorinryu for 40 years now… I have reviewed and
studied the vast amounts of quotes and concepts that Chibana Dai Sensei
has passed on to his students, followers and practitioners of the Okinawan
martial arts. Truly, I must be a slow learner, for only now (after 40
years) , I believe that I understand what he is saying. Hopefully, you
will not only read this but study it… it applies not only to the style
I practice but to all traditional martial arts.)

Written by and submitted courtesy of Ernest
Estrada, Okinawa Shorinryu Kyoshi

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